


Nothing Else Matters

by NessaroseEast



Category: Supernatural, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies, au swan song and on, season 2 au TWD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-11
Updated: 2015-10-30
Packaged: 2018-02-17 01:11:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2291474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NessaroseEast/pseuds/NessaroseEast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone is suffering in the post-apocalyptic world, one filled with zombies now along with all the other things that crawl around in the night, and when the Atlanta group teams up with team free will, well, everything that isn't an alive human had better run for the hills as they attempt to right the mistakes of the past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So, I already have this up on FFN, but I'm putting it up here as well. Thanks for reading it!

They were arguing about where to go next. Again. Daryl hated it when they did that. He quickly stood up from his tree stump and walked over to Rick and Shane.

“Hey, ya’ll,” he said loudly when he was standing next to them. They stopped arguing and looked at him. “How ‘bout this: I know a place that’s got food, water, shelter, generators, and weapons. It’s a five-hour drive to get there. If we leave now, we can get there before sunset.”

Rick and Shane looked at Daryl, then looked at each other and began discussing. Daryl rolled his eyes and walked back to his tree stump and sat down. After a few minutes, Rick and Shane walked back up to him.

“Show it to us on this map,” Shane said, pulling out a map. “ We’re prob’ly gonna go.”

Daryl smirked and grabbed the map. “Here.” He pointed to a spot on the map in the southern part of Georgia. “That’s where the place is. It’s a real big house, three underground levels, three above-ground levels, panic room, weapon room, pantry, freezer room, generators, all the good stuff.”

Shane and Rick raised their eyebrows. “Wow,” they said at the same time.

“Yeah, belonged to an old friend a mine an’ Merle’s. Prob’ly dead now anyways. Not like he’s gonna use it anymore.” Daryl scratched his chin and handed the map back. “So, we gonna hit the road today, ‘r we gonna get goin’ tomorra, ‘cause I dunno how long that buildin’ is gonna hold up with no one takin’ care of it.”

“Today,” Rick said immediately, earning a glare from Shane. “We’re gonna go today.”

Daryl smiled triumphantly. “Well, what’re we waitin’ fer, let’s get goin’!” He strode over to his motorcycle and started it up. “I’ll lead, ya’ll can follow.”

Rick and Shane immediately rounded everyone up and got them into their cars, quickly explaining what was happening.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I only have four chapters ready, but I'm in the process of more. Thanks for reading this!

The parade of cars drove down the long dirt driveway, kicking up dust as they neared the three-storied building. Daryl quickly took in everything about the house, how it was boarded up, the ’67 Chevy Impala parked in front of it, and the fenced-off area behind the house. There were several Walkers out front, some walking, but most dead.

Daryl pulled his bike up next to the Impala as everyone else pulled up beside him. He quickly cut off the engine and jumped off the bike, everyone else slowly getting out of their vehicles, stretching from the long car ride. Rick, Shane, and Daryl all pulled out their knives and quickly dispatched the remaining Walkers. When that was done, Daryl pulled his bow off his back and walked silently up the front porch steps.

He stopped in front of the door and knocked four times. Daryl glanced at the peephole in the door as he heard locks being unlocked one by one. By now, the rest of the group had begun to crowd around the porch, glancing nervously around at the surrounding landscape, ready to bolt into the cars at a moment’s notice.

The door opened a crack and Daryl looked into a bright blue eye.

“Who are you?” asked a man’s deep voice, presumably belonging to the eye’s owner.

“Daryl Dixon,” said Daryl. “A friend a mine used ta live here. I was wonderin’ if he was still here.”

The brow above the man’s eye furrowed. “There is no one here but Dean, Sam, and myself.”

Shane pushed Daryl to the side, getting a glare from said man, and said angrily, “Look, we’ve got kids and women and we ain’t got any place to go, so we’d like ta stay here.”

The man on the other side just frowned and said, “I will go get Dean.” He closed the door and put a few locks back in place.

“We should go,” said Lori quickly. “They’re not going to help us.”

“We don’t know that,” said Rick. He turned to Daryl and asked, “They’ll help us, right?”

Daryl shrugged. “Maybe. They’re not the guy I knew.”

“Rick, we should go,” said Shane.

“Go where?” asked Rick. “This is the only place we’ve got to go, there’s no where anywhere from here.”

The locks on the door shifted and the heavy door opened. Standing there were three men, an average sized man wearing a trench coat, a second man about the same height, but dirty-blond rather than dark haired, and a tall man with longish brown hair that lightly touched his shoulders.

The dirty-blond one who opened the door said, “Hey. I’m Dean.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for taking the time to read this!

Rick took a step forward and offered his hand. “Rick Grimes.” Dean didn’t take the hand, just shifted so his arms were crossed over his chest. His jacket shifted and drew Daryl’s eyes down to the gun that was hiding underneath Dean’s jacket. He gripped his crossbow tighter.

Rick dropped his hand and took a step back. “This is my group. It’s getting late and we need a place to stay for—“

“No,” said Dean.

Rick looked surprised. “What?”

“I said no,” said Dean. “I know what ya’ll want, you want a place to stay for the night, well you know what? This is a world where you can’t trust anyone, living or not.”

The tallest one turned to Dean and said, “Dean, they’ve got kids.”

Dean huffed and turned his dropped his arms, turning his head. “Sammy, they’ve gone this long without losing either of the kids.”

“I thought we saved people, Dean.”

“We do—“

“Then save these people.”

Dean glared at Sammy, then turned his glare to Rick. “Fine. Ya’ll can stay. But you’re gonna have to stay out here.”

“That’s fine,” Rick quickly agreed, nodding.

With one last glare, Dean turned and went back into the house, the trench-coat wearing one following. Sammy stepped forward slightly and closed the door over behind him.

“I’m Sam,” he said. “Don’t mind Dean, he doesn’t trust anyone but the people we know, and even then he’s still cautious.”

“I don’t blame him,” said Rick, stepping forward and offering his hand again. Sam took it and Rick said, “Thanks for gettin’ him to come ‘round.”

“Don’t mention it,” said Sam.

Daryl suddenly asked, “Who are ya’ll?”

Sam looked at him. “I’m Sam. That was my brother, Dean. The other one was our friend Castiel.”

Daryl narrowed his eyes at Sam. “What’re ya’ll doin’ here?”

“It was late, we found an empty house that was well stocked, we decided that we’d stay here for a while.” Sam shrugged.

“It’s great,” said Rick. “Thanks for lettin’ us stay. We’ll be fine out here.”

Sam clenched his jaw, nodded, and walked back inside, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

Rick rested his hands on his hips and turned to the group. “Alright, we only got about an hour or so of light left, so let’s set up the tents and get a fire or two goin’.”

Everyone dispersed to the cars to grab things and Daryl shouldered his crossbow, but as Rick started down the stairs, Daryl grabbed his arm. Rick turned to look at him.

“I don’t trust these guys,” said Daryl.

“And you think I do?” replied Rick and sighed, running his hand over his face and pulling from Daryl’s grasp. “Look, Daryl, we needed a place to stay, and even though it’s outside, if we need help, they’ll come runnin’. Sam mentioned savin’ people, maybe they’re cops like me ‘n’ Shane.”

“I dunno, Rick,” said Daryl, who crossed his arms. “They don’t seem like cops ta me.”

Rick smiled and clapped a hand on Daryl’s shoulder. “It’ll be fine,” he said and left to help set up the tents.

Daryl paused for a moment then said to himself, “I sure as hell hope so.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the last chapter I have already written up, but I am working on the next one, so maybe I'll have it up sometime this weekend. I hope. Anyway, thanks for reading my story!

Just after sunset, the tents were up and everyone was gathered around the small campfire, passing food around and taking a small amount of everything and placing it on their plate. It was silent for a long moment, only the hum of the cicadas in the background.

As soon as everything was cleared off his plate, Shane placed his it on the ground and stood up. “I’ve been thinkin’,” he said. Daryl, with a mouth full of food, rolled his eyes and everyone looked up at Shane. “I think in the mornin’ we should leave.”

“What?” said Lori. “We can’t go anywhere else, nowhere’s safe.”

Shane nodded and said, “Yeah, I’ve been thinkin’ ‘bout that. But, see, it’s dangerous here, too. We don’ even know these people. They might kill us in our sleep and take all our stuff.”

“I don’t wanna die,” Sophia said quietly.

Shane glanced at her. “I don’t want anyone here to die. That’s why I think we should leave. We’d be safer away from other people.”

“I don’t think so, Shane,” said Rick. “Safety comes in numbers.” Rick placed his plate on the ground as well and stood up, looking around at everyone. “Now, I don’t think we should completely trust these guys righ’ off the bat, and we should definitely keep someone on guard at all times while we’re here, but as long as we keep our distance and be careful ‘round ‘em, we should be fine an’ they won’t hurt us.”

Rick glanced over at Lori, who gave him a small smile. He glanced around at the group, ending with Shane. “We can make it good here. Nothin’ has to happen. I’ll talk with those guys tomorrow, see what they have and what they want and if they want to hurt us, we’ll keep up bein’ sharp and keepin’ ourselves safe, and we’ll be fine. If ya’ll are done eatin’, go on and head to bed, I’ll take the first watch.”

Rick stepped out of the group and walked to the RV, climbing on top of it and pulling out his gun, ready for the first watch. Daryl continued eating, as did everyone else.

As they finished eating, everyone went to their tents, leaving Daryl by the embers of the dying fire. When they had all gone, he stood, pulling his crossbow over shoulders. He walked up to the RV and climbed up. He pulled over, noticing Rick looking at him.

“You don’ need ta be up here by yerself,” Daryl said. “I’ll keep watch with ya.” He sat down at the opposite side of the RV, looking out over the fields.

“Thanks,” said Rick.

Daryl glanced over his shoulder to see Rick still staring at him and shrugged. “No problem.” He looked back towards the horizon, waiting for the inevitable Walker to show up.

Around midnight Rick stood up. “We should prob’bly head to bed.”

“You go ahead,” said Daryl. “I’ll wake up T-Dog when I get tired.”

Rick frowned and wiped a hand down his tired face. “Alright. Just don’t stay up too late.”

Daryl grunted in acknowledgement and nodded. Rick climbed down and walked to the tent he shared with Lori and Carl. At the entrance, he looked back at Daryl, but went in. Daryl shook his head, scratched his neck, and stood up, looking out at the fields surrounding the house and camp. It was almost three before he decided he was tired and woke up T-Dog. As T-Dog climbed up on the RV, Daryl went into his tent, laying down on the sleeping bag, falling asleep almost as soon as he lay down.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. I wanted to have this out last weekend, but this brilliant idea for another story came into my head and I wrote that instead. I'm sorry for the readers I disappointed last week when I didn't have another chapter. But this chapter is quite a bit longer than usual, so maybe that'll make up for it. This chapter has 1,175 words and I hope you all like it. Please, if you find any mistakes in any chapter or story I write, tell me. I want it to be the best it can be. Also, if you have any ideas for this story or for a story you would like me to write, go ahead and tell me, I appreciate anything.

When Daryl got up the next morning, the sun couldn’t have been up for more than ten minutes, and already he could hear movement from the others in the group. He groaned and scratched the top of his head and rubbed the crust from his eyes. He sat up and grabbed what he needed for the day.

When he was ready, Daryl left his tent. He glanced around the camp, noticing that Shane was sitting on the RV keeping watch and that almost everyone was still in their tents, some moving around getting ready for the day. Andrea was sitting by the burnt remains of the fire, just staring at the embers. As Daryl started to walk over to her, Rick came out of his tent in full police officer uniform and motioned Daryl to follow him. They walked away from the camp a few paces and stopped.

“I’m gonna talk to the guys inside,” Rick said.

“I Fig’red that,” Daryl said.

Rick nodded. “I’m gonna go get Shane, we’re gonna talk to them together. You hold down the fort here.”

Daryl frowned slightly. “Rick, you’re gonna be ten steps away. I don’t think you’ve gotta worry ‘bout anythin’.”

Rick smiled and clapped Daryl on the shoulder. “Yeah, I know. Gotta be careful, though. Be ready for anything.”

Daryl nodded slightly. Rick walked off over to the RV to get Shane. Daryl watched Rick and Shane talk for a moment, but then glanced back at Andrea, who was still sitting by the remains of last night’s fire. He walked over to her, making a little noise so he wouldn’t scare her, and sat down next to her. She glanced and glared at him.

“What?” she asked.

Daryl frowned and looked back at Rick and Shane, who were walking up the steps of the house to stand on the porch. He turned back to look at Andrea.

“Look,” he said. “I know how you’re feelin’.”

“No you don’t,” Andrea replied harshly.

Daryl rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I do. Merle, ‘member?”

Andrea glanced at him with slight guilt. “Sorry. Forgot.”

Daryl didn’t reply, only looked back at the house. Sam had opened the door and Rick was talking to him. They were too far for Daryl to hear them, but he assumed Rick was asking if they could go inside and talk. Daryl was proven right when Sam let them through, closing the door behind them.

Daryl stood and made sure he had his crossbow over his shoulder.

“Where’re you going?” Andrea asked him.

“Ta keep watch,” He replied. “Comin’?”

She stared at him for a moment, and nodded. She stood up and checked for her gun in the band of her pants, then looked back at Daryl. “Alright, let’s go.”

As they walked towards the RV, Carol and Sophia came out of their tent. Carol gave Daryl a small smile, but, uncomfortable, he pretended he didn’t see it.

Andrea climbed up the RV first, and was followed by Daryl. She sat on one side, he sat on the other, and they were both quiet for some time, just watching the fields waiting for Walkers.

Andrea finally said, “My sister didn’t deserve what happened to her. Neither did Merle, really.” Daryl glanced at her, but she wasn’t looking at him. “He helped keep us safe, both of you did. You went to get us food. We’d probably have died if you two weren’t there.”

Daryl snorted. “ ‘Probably’ is an understatement.”

Andrea glared half-heartedly at him and looked away. “Anyway, you two kept us alive, we washed your dirty clothes. It wasn’t much, but it was a little, rather than nothing.”

“Yeah,” Daryl said and looked away. It was silent for time; Daryl watched the shadows become shorter until the front door of the house opened. Daryl and Andrea stood up and watched the five men walk to the group. Rick motioned for them to join, so they climbed down from the RV and followed.

As they joined, Daryl noticed Rick and Shane, and Dean glaring at each other. Sam stepped forward.

“Okay,” he said. “We’ve decided that we’re gonna let you guys stay. We’ve put some plans into place, like if there’s any Croats, we’ll let you guys in and barricade the doors, don’t make any noise, simple stuff. We’ve got different plans for different scenarios, we’ll make sure you guys are safe.”

T-Dog asked, “What the hell is a ‘Croat’?”

Sam opened his mouth to reply, but Shane said, “It’s their word for Walker.”

“Why do you call them that?” Lori asked.

Sam and Dean shared an uneasy look. Sam turned back to the group and said, “It’s the virus.” At everyone’s confused looks he continued. “The Croatoan virus. Everyone who’s infected with it is called a Croat. At least, that’s what we call them.”

“That’s enough for today,” Dean said and walked up to stand next to Sam. “It’s time we get back inside.”

Dean turned around and headed back to the house. Sam rolled his eyes, sighed, and followed Dean. Castiel stayed where he was, his head slightly sideways, staring at Lori, who started to look uncomfortable.

“Cas!” Dean shouted from the front porch. Cas jumped a little and turned back toward Dean.

“C’mon!”

Cas glanced back at Lori, then walked back to the house. When he got there, Dean opened the door and walked in, followed by Sam and Cas, who closed the door.

“That was creepy,” Lori said and everyone but Rick looked back at her. “Why was he looking at me like that?” she asked Rick, who was still staring at the house.

“I dunno,” he replied without looking away. He turned back to the group. “Alright, everyone. We’re just gonna stay away from them, as far away from them as we possibly can. If you need anythin’, just come tell me, I’ll talk to them. They’re dangerous and not people to kid around. If anythin’ happens and we need their help, or they need ours, we’ll help each other, but other than that, there will be no contact, is that clear?”

Everyone nodded, Daryl a bit slower, wondering what could possibly have been said in that house for Rick to be acting like this.

“Good,” Rick said. “Do whatever you want, just don’t go near that house.” He turned away and walked to the RV, most likely to take up watch. Shane glanced around and followed.

It was quiet for a moment until someone’s stomach growled. Lori looked down at Carl with large eyes.

“Was that you?” she asked.

Carl looked up at her and laughed. “Yeah. I’m hungry.”

Lori smiled and said, “Well, let’s get some food into your belly and into everyone else’s. I guess you’re all hungry, too?” She glances around, seeing nods. “Alright, then. I’ll start breakfast.”

“I’ll help,” said Carol.

After breakfast, everyone went on their own way, Daryl went back to his tent to sharpen some arrows. A few minutes after he started, there was a high-pitched scream from across the small camp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Cliff-hanger! This is where it's going to start getting really interesting and will hopefully pick up some. I know where I'm going, I just am not really sure how I'm going to get there. Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll try not to leave it like this for too long!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t deserve forgiveness, so I won’t ask. I had promised to have this out Christmas, but I was busy and didn’t get around to it. And since then I’ve been barely passing Calculus, so I’ve been studying that more. This chapter’s short, but I’ve already begun the next chapter. I won’t make any promises, but I hope to have it out soon. Please enjoy this chapter.

Daryl shot up, arrows over his shoulder and crossbow in his hands in a moment. He sprinted across the camp to the source of the scream. As he ran, he noticed Sam and Dean run out of the house, knives in hand and guns in the waistbands of their jeans. Rick ran over from the fire, gun out and loaded. They reached the source of the scream.

Sophia was crawling backwards from a Walker, which was lying on the ground, pulling itself along by its arms. Daryl ran over and kicked the Walker away from Sophia. Rick pulled her from it and placed her into the care of her mother. Daryl glanced around and saw that the rest of the group had come, most of them with weapons.

Daryl put an arrow through the Walker’s head just as Dean and Sam arrived.

Dean took one look at the Walker and said, “Shit!” He walked away a bit and ran his hands through his hair. He walked back and kicked it a few times. “Mother fucker!” he shouted and walked back to the house.

“Are you okay?” Sam asked Sophia. When she didn’t reply, he asked Carol, “Is she okay?” He glanced over to Rick and Shane.

“I don’t think she got bit,” said Rick. “I didn’t see her get bit.”

“Good,” Sam said and pushed the hair from his eyes.

“Why’s he so pissed off?” Shane asked nodding to Dean’s retreating back.

Sam frowned at Dean as he reached the porch. He looked back to Shane and said, “The Croats don’t come here often. Dean and I think it’s because we’re out of the way, but even then, they still come here.”

“I don’t think that’s reason enough to get so mad,” said Lori.

“Look,” said Sam. “We’ve been doing stuff like this for a long time.” He glanced at Rick. “And the way things are going, we’re going to continue doing this for a long time.”

Dale spoke up. “What do ya mean, you’ve been doing this a long time?”

Sam glanced at Rick apologetically then looked back at Dale. “Look, I would tell you, but we’ve decided it’s safer for no one to know. If Rick and Shane thought you should know, they’d’ve told you.” Sam turned and started for the house. “See you guys later.”

No one moved for a moment, then Daryl looked at Rick.

“What does he mean, they’ve been doin’ this fer a while?” asked Daryl.

Daryl could tell Rick bit his cheek before he answered. “No one really need ta know that.”

“Bull!” said T-Dog. “We got any right that you got.”

“I want to know if they’re dangerous or not,” said Lori. Carol nodded in agreement, clutching Sophia’s shoulder.

“Al’ight, al’ight,” said Rick with his hands up a little. He glanced at Shane. “Me an’ Shane didn’t wanna tell anyone unless you needed ta know. They said that if people knew, then those people were more likely ta be in danger.”

“Danger of what?” asked Andrea.

“Them,” said Shane. “And the people they’re not with.”

“And who’re they?” asked Carol.

Rick grimaced. “You aren’t gonna believe us when we say.”

“We want to know,” said Lori.

“Demons,” said Rick.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished the last of my AP exams today, so I’ve decided to celebrate by finally finishing this chapter in class and getting this out to you lovely readers. I’d like to thank everyone who takes the time to read my story and deals with my crazy updating schedule. I’m sorry I didn’t have this out sooner. Also, I’m supposed to be leaving for basic within the next two months, so I might not have any chapters out for a while. So, possibly a hiatus for the next three to five months. Just think of any chapters that come out during that time as a special surprise. :)

Daryl wasn’t the only one who looked disbelieving. All around, everyone was giving skeptical looks to Rick.

“I get it,” said Rick “It’s not all that believable. But it’s what they said.”

“And how do we know we can believe ‘em?” asked Daryl.

“The one with the trench coat,” said Rick. “He’s not human. Not fully, anyway.”

“The hell is he if he ain’t human?” asked T’Dog.

“Demon?” said Sophia quietly.

“Naw,” said Shane. “Not demon, but they said he’s an angel.”

“That’s good, then,” said Carol. “He can save us. He can take us somewhere safe."

Rick shook his head. “He said he’s not as strong as he used ta be.”

“What does that mean?” asked Andrea.

Shane said, “He told us that the ‘heavenly body’ was ‘retreatin’ from earth’ and that we’re a lost cause. Bunch a bull crap ta me if I ever saw it.”

“Shane doesn’t believe them,” said Rick.

“Do you?” asked Lori.

Rick shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe. But if we’ve got somethin’ to believe in, we’ve got this. These guys,” He pointed to the house behind him. “They say they’re the only ones that can save us, save the world. They said they’re the reason all this started, because they chose free will over being controlled.” Rick noticed the borderline panic in a few people’s eyes and the concern in the rest. He put his hands out. “But they’re tryin’ ta right it. Ta make it better, ta fix it.” The panic went down a notch, but it was still there.

“You said tha’ these guys’re dangerous,” said Daryl.

“Yeah, well they started the apocalypse,” said Shane.

“It’s not just that,” said Rick. “If they feel threatened, they’ll do what they feel they need to ta protect themselves. But it ain’t really even that. There’re monsters out there.”

“The Walkers?” said Dale.

Rick shook his head. “Not jus’ them. Those guys told me ‘n’ Shane that there’re other things. Besides the Walkers an’ angels an’ demons.”

“You’re not actually saying ghosts are real, are you?” asked Andrea.

“Yeah, he is,” said Shane. “Bu’ not jus’ ghosts. Other stuff, too.”

“Like vampires?” asked Carol.

“And werewolves?” said Carl a little excited.

“Yeah, both of ‘em,” said Rick. “An’ some other things. The thing is that these things find their way to ‘em. Search for them and get ‘em. A lotta the things out there got sumthin’ against those guys.”

“But why?” asked Andrea.

“Cause they killed those things’ family or friends,” said Rick. “To protect people, but that made them enemies of whatever knew the things they killed.”

“Why are we still here then?” asked Dale. “If there’re things comin’ after those boys, then we’re in the line of fire. We’re gonna get the brunt of it.”

Lori nodded. “We should go. It’s not safe here for us, for Carl. We can’t still be here when things go down.”

“We already talked this out,” said Rick. “We’re not gonna leave. If somethin’ happens, we just go inta the house with them. If push comes to shove, we’ll help them fight back.”

The group heard the sound of a car approaching on the dirt driveway. They turned to see a small car coming up and parking in front of the house. A man with dark hair stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut. He headed for the front door, but did a double take when he saw the group.

Rick raised a hand in greeting.

The man nervously returned the gesture and scurried to get up the stairs. He knocked at the door and a moment later was let in by Sam.

“Who do ya think that was?” asked Shane.

Rick shrugged. “Dunno. But the guys inside must know ‘im.”

Shane nodded in agreement. “Alright,” he said, turning back around to the group. “That’s pretty much it. Go on back doin’ whatever it was that you were doin’.” Shane walked away to his tent, probably to clean his gun.

The rest of the group wasn’t so ready to end the conversation.

“What are they doin’ to keep us safe?” Dale asked.

“I asked them,” said Rick. “They said that they’re puttin’ up an iron fence, which is supposed to protect us from a lotta things.”

“How long is that goin’ ta take?” asked Lori.

“Dunno,” said Rick. “They said they were almost done. Either way, me and Shane have talked, and we decided that we aren’t gonna stay here long. We need ta recollect from Atlanta. Stock up on supplies and get ready ta leave again.” Rick paused to see what the group thought. Most people were nodding in agreement.

“Sounds good,” said Daryl.

“Alright, then,” said Rick. “We’re gonna need ta get a map of the area. Daryl, I want you ta come with me, we’re gonna scout some places nearby.”

Daryl nodded and left to grab his remaining arrows from his tent.

When he returned, the rest of the group was going about their business and Dale was heading to the top of the RV to take watch. Rick was waiting for Daryl near one of the trees, staring out at the open field before him.

“Ready?” Daryl asked as he approached Rick.

Rick nodded and turned to the house. “Yeah. Let’s go.” He started walking and Daryl followed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! New chapter! Hope you enjoy.

Rick knocked on the door and Sam answered.

 

"Hey," said Rick. "We were wonderin' if you had any maps of the area."

 

"Yeah," said Sam. "Come on in." Sam stepped aside to let them in. "Sorry that the place is a bit messy, we’ve been researching a lot."

 

"That’s fine," said Rick as Sam led them away into a room just down the hall. The room was dark, even with the windows open letting in the breeze. Candles flickered as Sam walked past to a stack of papers on a desk. He shifted through them and pulled one from the others, handing it to Rick.

 

"Here," said Sam. "I don’t know if it’s up-to-date, but it’s the only one we’ve got. There’s a few farms around here, and a small town a couple miles north, but other than that, it’s pretty bare. Dean and I’ve already checked a lot of those places out and didn’t find anything really useful."

 

"You musta found somethin’," said Daryl.

 

Sam just shrugged. "We haven’t really needed anything. We’ve got plenty here." Sam turned to Rick and said, "Like I said before, if you guys need anything, we’ll be glad to help. Just tell us what you need and we’ll give you what we can."

 

Rick shook his head. "No, you guys’ll prob’ly need it. We can get our own supplies."

 

Sam looked like he was going to continue arguing, but must’ve decided against it because he said, "Alright. But if you need help getting stuff—"

 

"Don’t worry, we’ve got it," said Rick. "Thanks for the map. We’ll just let ourselves out."

 

Sam nodded and Rick and Daryl left the room. They walked towards the door but were distracted by the unknown man who had arrived earlier. The man walked into the hallway and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Rick and Daryl, both of whom had also stopped.

 

"Uh, hey," said the man. Closer up, Daryl could see that the man didn’t seem to sleep much, or eat much, or really care about his appearance. He looked tired and was wearing clothes that hung loosely off his frame. "I’m Chuck, Sam and Dean’s friend. You guys are part of that group outside, right?"

 

Rick nodded. "Yeah. I’m Rick. This is Daryl."

 

Chuck fidgeted nervously for a moment, then said, "So, yeah. See ya around." He walked down the hallway into the room Sam was in.

 

Rick watched for a moment, then turned to the door and opened it. "Come on, we got a lot ta do."

 

Daryl followed him out and closed the door behind him. They walked over to one of the cars by the camp and spread the map out on the hood. Rick grabbed a pen from the cab of the car and searched the map for where they were. Rick circled the property when he found it.

 

"So, we’re here," he said. He began gridding the map and glanced at the sun. "It’s almost midday, so we don’t have a lot of time to search around. We can get some of the farms nearby, but we prob’bly can’t get all of ‘em." Rick circled a few houses nearby. "I wanna get these houses today, though."

 

Daryl nodded. "Yeah. If we head out now, we can hit all of those ones before tonight."

 

"Let’s get somethin’ ta eat, then leave," said Rick.

 

After lunch, Daryl waited for Rick as Rick said his goodbyes to Lori and Carl. Shane approached Rick as he headed to where Daryl was standing.

 

"You sure you’re gonna wanna be out there till dark?" Shane asked.

 

"We’ll be fine," said Rick. "We shouldn’t be gone long."

 

"Fine," said Shane. "But if ya'll ain’t back when it gets dark, I’m gonna go lookin’ for ya."

 

Rick shook his head with a smile on his face. "Alright. And don’t worry. We’re not goin’ far." Rick checked to make sure he still had his gun and stopped next to Daryl. "Ready?"

 

Daryl nodded.

 

"Alright," said Rick. "Let’s get goin’."

 

Rick started walking in the direction of the closest house and Daryl followed. Shane watched them depart for a moment, then turned and walked back into camp.

 

***

 

The house was suspiciously empty when they arrived. There were no walkers, no food, nothing of use. The next two houses were the same.

 

"Nothin's left," Daryl said to Rick as they left thee most recent house.

 

"You're right," said Rick. "Maybe they already cleaned everythin' out."

 

"Sam said they already looked around," Daryl said. "They prob'bly took all the good stuff."

 

"Yeah," said Rick. "How d'ya feel 'bout headin' back?"

 

"Sounds good ta me," said Daryl. "Maybe we should hit that town tomorrow."

 

Rick nodded in agreement and they both started walking back to the house. By the time they got back, they had a half a dozen squirrels and a few rabbits to show that they were at least a little successful in the search for supplies. The sun had fallen under the tree line so Daryl started skinning the rabbits and squirrels for dinner.

 

Shane approached Rick. "Find anything?"

 

Rick shook his head. "Nothing. It's like somethin' or someone was there before us and took everythin'."

 

"Do you think it was them?" Shane gestured toward the house.

 

"I don't know, maybe," said Rick. "It seemed almost like someone had been there right before us. If it was those guys, even just a few hours before us, somethin' would have been there, a Walker or somethin'."

 

"You don't think someone's watchin' us?" asked Shane. "Seein' what we do, take before we can?"

 

"Maybe. Look, don't worry about it," said Rick. "We're safe here."

 

"How can you be so sure, Rick?" said Shane. "We don' know nothin' 'bout these guys, they could be serial killers for all we know."

 

"They haven't killed us yet, Shane. If they were goin' ta, they would've done it by now." Rick shook his head and glanced at the rest of the camp. Everyone had pitched in to find rocks to put around the fire and wood to light. Dale was on top of the RV keeping watch. Daryl was still skinning, but was almost done.

 

"We should go help," Rick said, moving away.

 

Shane glared at him for a moment, then followed.

 

***

 

The evening was going well. Andrea had taken a plate of food, then headed to the RV to keep watch. Everyone else was talking about the strange man that had appeared.

 

"I think he's a hippie uncle," Lori said. Rick chuckled. From what he had seen that was a perfectly reasonable guess.

 

"Well, none of us are ever gonna know," said Dale. "Someone should go an' ask."

 

"Why don't you do it, Dale?" Glenn asked. There was a small round of laughter as Dale grimaced.

 

"I'm not the one who really wants to know," he replied. "Why don't you ask him, Carol?"

 

Carol blushed and shook her head. "I'm not really all that interested."

 

"Why not?" asked T-Dog. "A pretty young woman like yourse--"

 

He was cut off by a scream in the woods.

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here's a new chapter. Thank you everyone who's been patient with my absence, although I don't have any good reasons not to have written this ages ago. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Everyone froze. Rick and Shane jumped up, their guns out. They quickly checked to see if everyone was there. Shane ran over to the RV to check if Andrea was up there. There was a crunching of leaves as Sam and Dean approached from the house.

"What happened?" Dean yelled.

"Dunno," said Rick. "Everyone's here. No one's missin'."

Shane ran up to stand beside Rick, shotgun in hand. "What the hell was that scream?"

"Was it a monster?" asked Sophia in a small voice.

Sam and Dean shared a glance.

"Maybe," said Dean.

"That's why we're going to ask you guys to stay in the house with us tonight," Sam said.

Dean turned sharply to Sam. "They're not staying with us in the house."

"What choice do we have?" Sam asked. "If it is a Wendigo, then they're sitting ducks."

Dean sighed and clenched his teeth. "Fine. But only until we find this thing and gank it."

Sam nodded. "Alright." He turned back to the group. "Okay, so it's safer inside the house, so it would be best if all of you spend the night inside with us."

Shane took a step forward. "Naw, I don't think so. Why the hell should we trust you?"

Rick grabbed Shane by the arm and yanked him back. "What the hell are you doin'?" he hissed. "They're tryin' ta help us."

"Really, Rick?" Shane said. "'Cause they're the ones who said we gotta stay out here in the firs' place."

"To protect themselves from somethin' they didn't know," said Rick. "If the roles were reversed, we'd do the same thing and you know it."

Shane glared at Rick but looked away when Lori approached.

"I think we should stay out here," she said.

"We don't know what's out there, Lori," Rick said to her. "What if it ain't human?"

"That scream sounded pretty human to me," said Lori.

Shane nodded. "Maybe somethin' got someone an' the person's hurt. People scream when they get bit."

Another scream echoed from the trees, closer this time. Everyone who was sitting jumped up and moved closer to Rick and Shane.

"I think we should go with these boys," said Dale. Many of the people around him nodding in agreement.

Shane nodded in resignation. "Alright. We'll go with 'em."

"Great," Dean said. "But we gotta move now." He turned around and started marching back to the house.

"But what is it?" Rick shouted at his retreating back.

"We'll explain when we get inside," Sam said.

Rick nodded and started following Dean. As the group started following, another scream sounded from the other side of camp. Sam and Dean ran in that direction, closely followed by Rick then Shane, while everyone else made a mad dash toward the house where Castiel was standing in the open doorway. Daryl paused for a moment before gabbing his bow and running towards the scream.

Sam and Dean's guns were already out when Daryl caught up.

"But how're we suppose' to fight it?" Rick was asking.

"We need fire," Dean said.

"I got a lighter," Daryl said, startling the other four men.

"Uh, good," Sam said. "We could use that. Actually, give it here."

He held his hand out to Daryl, who took out his lighter and handed it to Sam.

"Thanks. I'll give it back when we're done with this."

"What is this?" Daryl asked.

"A Wendigo," Sam said. "It's a creature that lures--"

"Lures its prey deep in the woods ta kill it," said Daryl, earning a surprised look from Sam. "I've heard a these things b'fore."

Sam nodded and turned to Dean. "So, we have a source of fire, but how exactly are you planning on getting it to where we can kill it?"

"Get it to follow one of us," Dean said, shrugging. "Corner it, then gank its sorry ass."

"I'll get it to follow me," Shane said.

Rick shook his head and said, "No, I can't let ya do that."

"And why not?" Shane asked Rick, getting close to him. Daryl took a step forward, tightening his grip on his crossbow. "I ain't got nuthin' ta lose."

"'Cause you're my friend," Rick said, pushing Shane away. "I won't let you get yourself killed."

"Really, guys?" Dean said. "We don't have time for this. Who's gonna be bait?"

"I will," Rick said.

"Like hell," Shane said. "You got a wife and a kid you gotta look out for."

"I'm gonna do this," Rick said and turned to Sam. "What do I gotta do?"

***

When they were all ready, Rick started walking to the forest where the Wendigo was. It hadn't screamed in some time, but that didn't mean it wasn't out there. It was probably just waiting for someone to be stupid enough to go looking around for it.

Dean and Shane were near the tree line with unlit torches, waiting for Rick to come running by and to light the monster on fire. Sam and Dean had made sure to tell them that Wendigos were very fast but even then, Rick was ready to do this.

Sam and Daryl were by the house, a last line of defense in case the Wendigo got by Dean and Shane and went for the house.

"How long've you guys been here?" Daryl asked Sam.

Sam glanced at him and said, "Almost since the beginning. Not like it's been long or anything, we've been on hunts longer than we've been here, but we needed a place to sit and try to figure out about what to do with the apocalypse."

"You talk like it's yer fault."

Sam huffed a humorless laugh and said, "Yeah, I guess so. Did you know the person who lived here?"

Daryl observed Sam and said, "How do you figure that."

Sam shrugged. "Why else would anyone come here? It's the middle of nowhere."

Daryl nodded in agreement.

"It's a nice place though," Sam continued. "Big pantry, plenty of rooms, generator, no shortage of gas. It's good."

"Yeah," Daryl said. "My buddy who lived here was a paranoid guy. Always talkin' 'bout th' 'pocalypse."

Sam smiled. "He was a smart guy."

"He was a dumbass," Daryl said. "Good fer nuthin' wife-beater who couldn't do Jack-shit. The world's better off without 'im."

Sam looked away to the tree line, trying to catch a glimpse of his brother. Suddenly one torch flared followed by the other and one shadowy figure flashed past the lights. Another larger figure stopped at the edge of light and screeched.

Sam unholstered his gun and Daryl raised his bow, both ready to fight.

The Wendigo slashed at one of the lights and the figure went flying across the yard, dropping the torch.

Sam and Daryl ran towards the fallen figure.

Rick screamed at the Wendigo and shot at it. The other man standing swiped at the creature with the torch, narrowly avoiding its long arms. He finally hit the thing's arm, which quickly caught on and spread. The Wendigo gave a last scream before disintegrating.

The four men ran to the unmoving figure on the ground. Rick reached him first as he was closest.

"Shane! Shane!" he was screaming.

Daryl faltered and stayed back as Sam and Dean hit the ground to see how bad Shane was hurt.

"Do something!" Rick shouted at them.

Sam and Dean shared a look and Dean shook his head.

"We can't do anything," Sam said. "The cuts are too deep."

Rick stood and started pacing, shaking his head. "We gotta do somethin'. We can't jus' let 'im die."

Dean stood and Rick stopped pacing to look at him.

"Look, I get it," Dean said. "He was your friend. But this is the apocalypse, man, and people die all the time."

"Dean," Sam said sharply. Dean just shrugged at him.

"Someone had to tell him," Dean said. He turned back to Rick who had started pacing again. "Haven't you ever had someone die before?"

"He ain't dead yet," Daryl said. Rick gave him a grateful look and sat back down on the ground next to Shane.

Sam frowned and said, "Look, we'll make him comfortable in the house and if he... passes tonight, we'll have a funeral tomorrow."

"What if he doesn't?" Rick asks. "What if he makes it through? What if he gets better?"

Dean rolled his eyes.

"Then we'll make sure he heals," Sam said.

Rick thought for a moment and said, "Alright. Let's get him in."


End file.
